Metroid Prime: Federation Force may point to a Metroid Prime 4

3DS Metroid Prime spinoff Federation Force may not appeal to all Nintendo fans - but a big hint for the next Metroid Prime game likely will.

Federation Force is a largely self-contained story, although a post-credits scene sets the stage for what may come next.

There's no discussion of Federation Force's main ending below - there's no need - but here's a final spoiler warning for its post-credits scene. No complaints if you decide to read further!

SPOILERS AHEAD.

An intriguing scene set after Federation Force's credits shows a Metroid egg being hatched and stolen from the friendly Galactic Federation.

The culprit is never fully shown, although fans have suggested it appears to be Metroid Prime Hunters' Sylux.

This would make sense: back at E3 2015, Metroid Prime series boss Kensuke Tanabe told me it was Sylux's ship that appeared in the post-credits scene for Metroid Prime 3, chasing series heroine Samus Aran, and that he would like to feature the character of Sylux more fully in a future game.

"Personally I'd like to create a story centring around Sylux and Samus," Tanabe told Eurogamer. "We've done a story based on the Hunters, and this time around we're doing a story on the Galactic Federation. I would like to cross the two over in the future. And of course see a little more of Samus."

At the same time, Tanabe also said the next numbered Metroid Prime game would likely skip Wii U and arrive on the upcoming NX console instead. With this latest tease for Sylux, could his moment in the spotlight finally arrive for a Metroid Prime 4?

You can see Federation Force's post-credits scene at the end of the video below, from the 23:10 mark. Do not watch before then if you want to keep the game's main ending unspoiled.